"Literature
comes alive when kids have a chance to interpret and to
interact. It allows kids to not only see themselves as active
readers, but as people who can make meaning."Barry Hoonan
The Odyssey School
Bainbridge Island, Washington

Barry
Hoonan believes teaching is much like poetry. It is crafted,
it is magical, and it is powerful when shared. As an act of
creation, teaching illuminates the tiny details of living
and learning. Entering literature discussion groups as a teacher,
Mr. Hoonan sees himself as an improvisational artist, listening
and responding to student comments and questions. He is on
the spot and ready to take the disparate pieces and help students
put them together. Moving in and out of group discussions,
his ultimate goal is to help students become independent thinkers
and learners.

View this video==>

Trust
in students and in their abilities as readers and thinkers
is central to Barry Hoonan's teaching. Understanding that
students come to his classroom with a great deal of knowledge
and information, his approach to literature begins by taking
his cue from the students. Although he makes suggestions and
adds information to a discussion when necessary, he prefers
to have student voices and understandings predominate.

Each
literature group has a facilitator, entrusted with keeping
things moving, making sure everyone has a voice, and getting
the students to develop their insights. However, Mr. Hoonan
has learned that too much structure in such groups can get
in the way of creative conversation that sparks ideas students
may not have had before. Experience has taught him that students
respond to overly structured situations by becoming stiff,
asking questions and answering each carefully in turn around
the circle. The literature discussions portrayed in this video
display the organic, respectful, back-and-forth exchanges
of authentic conversations in which ideas are offered, tested,
and developed.

Mr.
Hoonan believes strongly in the importance of community, especially
in this multi-age classroom, and feels that literature discussion
groups are an important way to foster classroom community.
To accommodate a diverse range of interests, ages, and abilities,
Mr. Hoonan offers students a choice of 15 titles linked to
the theme, "Life's Not Fair." Students are invited
to read at least two books and form discussion groups based
on the reading of shared titles. In addition, the class read-aloud
book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli further enriches the
theme. As a way of enriching literary readings, an important
component of the literature discussions involves linking issues
from the literature with the students' personal experiences.

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professional development, preservice education, administrative
and English/language arts content meetings, parent conferences,
and back-to-school events, visit our Support
Materials page. There you will find PDF files of our library
guide, classroom lesson plan, student activity sheets, and
other Teacher Tools.